Signs Signs Everywhere Signs

Anna Gray was in a sharing mood! She was also half-clothed after feeding herself some pasta. There may actually be a chunk in her hair. I promise we went strait to the bath after this.


I didn't want to push my luck to see how many she would do on camera and I was having trouble coming up with them on the fly, but here's what I got:

Cutest thing ever, right?

Afterward, I started writing down others just to get an idea of how many she knows. So, for documentation sake. Here's the list: bath, eat, mama, daddy, no, milk, cereal, more, cracker (a "cracker" could be an actual cracker, but it could also be a waffle, toast, pretzel.. anything crunchy really), hi/bye, signing time, kiss, all done, sleep, dog, fish, and banana.

She is also just started to realize that she has her own thoughts and can communicate them.
For instance, the other day I said :"Anna Gray, time to get out of the bath!"
And she signed : All done, NO
I gave her another minute and got her out, had her on the counter brushing her hair and she signed AND said, "More bath!".
Exciting!!

The words she can SAY out loud at 22 months:
Mama, Dada, more, hi, bye-bye, bath, cracker (sounds like clackle... adorbs), dog, and Elmo. Yes, Elmo is worthy of actual speech. She LOVES him.

Thankfully, Santa brought her an Elmo that can be her real live friend. I love watching her mimmick him (note her mouth moving like his too). And "more Elmo" at the end :)
(Excuse Nathan hammering in the background.)

CRACKS ME UP EVERY TIME!

Holiday Highlights.

 

 

 

 

We visited with Santa, went out to lunch, and rode the train.

 

 

Our elf, Carly, was quite mischevious all month! The kids loved it when she hung their underwear where their stockings should be, rode a firetruck with Elmo, drew on their cousins' faces, made a big mess of hot chocolate, wrote on their bathroom mirror in toothpaste, and boobie-trapped their rooms with streamers!

 

 

 

 

It was Anna Gray's very first Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

She didn't have a ton of interest in opening gifts, but she handled all the running around really well.

And... she crawled!

 

 

Five strait days of family, food, sugary sweets, cousins cousins everywhere, shreds of paper, and smiles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aaand... this:

 

 

 

I love love love some Christmas mornin' chaos!

 

 

 

The big kids were up at FOUR A.M. with big grins on their faces. And they were still smiling when I sent them right back upstairs and told them to wait an hour. We didn't want to wake AG up at 4:00, but also didn't want her to miss it!

 

At 5:15, they came back down...

 

 

Christmas goodies: a Spiderman/Capt America bowtie, makeup, Elmo, and lots of Monster High!

 

 

Hope your Christmas was as merry as our's!

 

 

 

 

If my heart gets any more full in 2013, it just might actually burst.



Merry and bright!

Layla's debut in The Nutcracker!

She had a blast and was a joy to watch. She's already picking out what role she wants next year and she's aiming high! 'Atta girl.

Getting in a lil extra practice... although, technically, there was no twirling in her dance. Technically.

Next up:
Polar Express Surprise!

The kids found these tickets on their pillows when we went to tuck them into bed:

Surprise! Your coat and boots are by the door. Your hot chocolate and popcorn are in the car. We are going on a Christmas Scavenger Hunt! Bundle up and let's go! We love you and Merry Christmas!



 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure AG was thinking, "Wow... Americans get a little nuts over Christmas."

 

We were only gone about 30 mins passed bedtime, but I guess that was enough! Of course, a late night hot chocolate has a different effect on some than others.

 

 

Fun night!!

 

A few school parties to end the week and we were all set to start celebrating!

 

Snowman relay race:

 

 

 

 

Not gonna lie, I cried a little when he let them put lotion/cottonballs all over his face. That's huge!

Here comes Christmas!

 

 



Goings on.

 

Cale was responsible for his class "pet" this weekend. He took Ollie everywhere with him, took pics, and wrote in the class journal about it. Saturday: hunting and a roller skate party. Sunday: church and milkshakes. He really enjoyed it!

We Christmas crafted the crap out of our Sunday. I just loved everyone being home (in shifts) working on craft after craft after craft of Christmasy stuff with a hot toddy... er... hot tea, extra honey for the coughers.

For us:

A thumbprint plate

2012 ornament!

Highlights included:  Anna Gray/Ukraine (fav), new house, Jessie, first sleepover, Pat Summit, The Nutcracker, Kindergarten, Fernandina, Buddy Walk/Autism Speaks, Great Smoky Mountains, BabyCakes, circus, Mustangs, and Camilla.

We worked on lots of gifts for others, too (not pictured obvs).

And the crazies ended the day with homemeade glittery peppermint playdough and some pretty wild imaginations.

Cale made a tarantula, much to his father's dismay.

Layla first made a burrito, as an employee of Taco Bell.

And then was, unfortunately, stung by a bee.

Brynn made "a super tasty pepperoni and black olive pizza", but she was clearly not herself. She was the quietest one at the table! WEIRD.  Turns out, baby girl was s.i.c.k.  She barked all night long and woke up before the sun with a sharp fever and labored breathing. She almost has nomonomia, she says (pneumonia). HATE that she's puny, LOVE that Miss Independent is letting me baby her. Hopefully, she trades sickly for sassy soon!

Hey... I'm bloggin

We have internet at our house, for the first time... um, ever.

Actually, that's not true.

Technically, we had internet connected at our old house. And by "connected", I mean Nathan bought a "How to Run Phone Lines for Dummies" book (really) and wore a confused face for five years when it didn't work.

We've been tethering our phones, but if we get a call/text we lose our connection. Plus, our family room is basically a basement so the connection is shoddy anyway. Super frustrating in a Now!Now!Now! day and time and it just isn't always worth the hassle.

Buuut... as of today, we have internet! REAL TRUE WORKING INTERNET! I can function in 2012 :)

So, here's a couple holidays we missed-
A Cale-trooper, a jellyfish, Galinda the Good (Wicked), and a friendly little ghost got to trick-or-treat for the first time.

 

Turkey Day

You know me, it's all or nothin.

 



Other news (in no particular order):
We have a new niece!
Camilla Frances

Big sisters got to stay with us a while; which means Anna Gray's first sleep-over!

Speaking of... Anna Gray is standing now!
She got her handy-dandy-Sure-Steps and become a whole new gal.
She pulled up to the chair an HOUR after putting them on for the first time.

Brynn and Cale's hands officially passed Layla's in size.

And Layla officially passed the point in her life where she looked like me.

I'm learning to sew. Pretty excited about that one, and grateful to a friend from the 118th for a sewing machine housewarming gift.

Of imortant note:
Today is World AIDS Day. Educate yourselves and others. Did you now that HIV is easier to control than Type I Diabetes? That no one has ever contracted HIV through casual contact or living with someone who is positive?  Here's a short and sweet post by my friend, Kate. Take a second and read up, check out Project Hopeful and spread the love! Truth is contagious.



Of other importance:
Our adoption community lost one of our own this week. Through this process, through Ukraine, we are tied together. Our hearts ache for our friend as she says goodbye today to her sweet boy, Henry. Candles were lit all over the world (literally) in his honor- our house included. Henry's time on earth was short, but his impact was huge. So thankful he got to spend 14 months knowing true love before he left us. Sleep with angels, sweet prince.